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The world's oldest blogger, Olive Riley, passed away early Saturday morning. Ollie wrote The Life of Riley, a fascinating personal journal about her personal experiences. I will miss Ollie; she made me smile. But she certainly lived life and I think that's about the finest thing anyone can say about this remarkable woman. Her blog is still up; you can click here to read her archive.
Sunday mornings will never be the same. While Meet the Press is not a "must see" for me, it is a staple of weekend tv. And Tim Russert was always there, cordial, tough but respectful to each and every one of his guests - whether they deserved it or not. The man had a passion for his work and enthusiasm that was contagious. He turned every political season - even the dull, predictable ones - into something worth watching. Because he cared, he made me care, too. Tim Russert was more than a talking head, he was an icon. And I will miss him.
I am mostly on board with Earth Day - though I do think there is a good bit of hipocracy and fuzzy science behind the whole global warming thing. I mean, come on - Al Gore and his ilk consume more energy flying around the countryside to speak on the subject in one day than I do in a year. He has carved out a nice living though. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox.
Here at my little house, I plant flowers that are good for honeybees, I use enviromentally friendly products whenever I can, I turn off the lights when I leave a room, I don't leave the fridge door open, and I avoid aerosol anything.
One of the things I am most looking forward to about moving to Springfield is this: Springfield has a recycling program. Tiny Tourist Town does not - which never made sense to me because all those tourists sure generate enough trash.
This morning I read an article that said Missouri leads the way in the use of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. My fellow Missourians bought 5.3 million of the things since January 2007. I am not one of them.
This is the most disturbing: they contain mercury so, not only are they hard to dispose of properly, they are downright dangerous if broken. Have you read the warnings for bulb clean up? You need a hazmat team.
I will be sticking with my good old incandescents a while longer, until the new LED bulbs arrive.
Happy Earth Day.
I've thought about this and I believe its no coincidence that Cedar Season and Tax Season come at the same time every year. It's sorta like getting all the unpleasant stuff over with at once. On April 15th, another tax deadline will be history and so will the cedar pollen. (If the trees aren't done by then, they will be shortly.) Yesterday, I dug out all my 2007 receipts and started making deduction stacks, one for each catagory. My dining room is now decorated in Post-it Notes and piles of paper, so much paper that I'm afraid to light my Wolfard Lamps. I'm not hurrying through this maze. I only work on it when the allergy drugs make me feel sub-human. Do I worry about my math when I'm in this Cro-Magnon state? Nope. Mitch built a spreadsheet for the whole mess. So, how's tax season goin' at your house?
Congratulations, Uno, Westminster's Best In Show 2008! What a grand little dog. He competed against the best field I've seen at Westminster in years. And what about those wonderful commercials by Pedigree? They were better than the Super Bowl ads. What a treat. Can't wait for next year's show.
...for two reasons:
1. Uno the Beagle won the Hound Group tonight at Westminster. Woo Hoo! Uno is a "local boy"; he lives right up the road from Tiny Tourist Town, in Columbia, Missouri.
2. We are under a Winter Storm Warning tonight. It's been raining here all day, freezing, then thawing a bit, then freezing again. It's dark now... and still raining. Hard. With thunder and lightning. Our house is all electric and we don't have a fireplace, so I've got all the oil lamps lit and the candles dug out... just in case. This is the 3rd major ice storm in Southwest Missouri in 13 months. I don't mind telling you that we're a little tired of ice around here. My work is uninterrupted because my office is in the house, but still. It just messes up the works. You know? I'll let you know how we fared in the morning.
Bright and early Monday morning, the competition will begin. Yeah baby, I'm talkin' about the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show! It's the highlight of February every year at my house. If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I'm a dog lover. I love all dogs - purebred or mutt - doesn't matter to me. A dog is a dog is a dog - and they're all gifts from above. I'll be watching the show with our 2 little guys - Sam, our Teddy terrier, who doesn't get the whole dog show thing, and Little Buddy, our 5 pound Yorkie who truly believes he's more beautiful than any dog at Westminster. (I may have planted that thought in his tiny head.) May your favorite dog win.
January is pretty special around here. From late December to early February, bald eagles make Missouri their winter home. The state conservation department calls this Eagle Days and has a number of bird watching events slated this month around the state.
I saw my first bald eagle of the season on January 1st as we were driving to Springfield to meet our family for New Year's Dinner. It was making big lazy circles over a field. Incredible. You can't miss these huge birds with their striking white heads and tails.
I think seeing a bald eagle on the first day of the new year must be a sign of good things to come...
...turned on the news and saw that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize. Al Gore. I thought I was having some sort of parallel universe nightmare. Then the local weather came on and I knew I was awake. I have only one thing to say:
Manbearpig. (You South Park fans will get it.) If you want to read about people who are truly making a difference in the world, see my Red Friday posts. Thank you.
